Fitness Center Hopes for More Eyes in the Sky

Changes could be on the way for the that will make its surveillance system better and more efficient.

T.L. Thogmartin, fitness center manager, is hoping to add nine new security cameras and a better surveillance system for $24,500. The money would come from the fitness center's 2012 appropriations.

“There’s a lot of corners and spots we could really use some additional surveillance on,” Thogmartin said.

The fitness center already has 14 cameras in the building but that is not enough to keep an eye on everything, according to Thogmartin.

The field house, for example, has only two cameras for a 44,000 square-foot space. He's hoping to add four more cameras to keep better watch over such a large area.

“I have the cameras set in the best places, but we’re still not covering the field house," Thogmartin said.

The other cameras will be added to the hallways outside the locker rooms, in the main lobby and near the recently-added Subway.

“There’s a lot of activity in that building and whatever we could do to keep things peaceful and safe for people, let’s do it,” he said.

Cameras won't actually be in the locker rooms where most incidents -- like thefts -- occur, but Thogmartin said those can be easily avoided.

"People just don’t take care of their personal belongings," Thogmartin said, adding most thefts occur because members don't lock up their belongings.

But when incidents happen, the response time will be much faster with a new system. The surveillance footage would be instantly streamed to the police department so officers can see footage in real time, drastically cutting down on response time.

"Right now we've got to wait a day to pull up video from the day before, but now the police can do it on the spot,” Thogmartin said.

Approval for the new surveillance system could come from city council in the next several weeks, and the system could be installed a few weeks after that.

With all of the advancements in security these days, Thogmartin wants to make sure the fitness center utilizes it to keep members safe.

“Let’s take advantage of today’s technology,” he said.